Moving target and rotating centrifugal projector

ABSTRACT

A GAME SIMULATING TRANSLUNAR INJECTION. THE GAME INCLUDES A SECTOR-SHAPED BOARD, A ROTATABLE TURNTABLE COPLANAR WITH THE BOARD AT THE NARROW END THEREOF, AND A MOON-SHAPED TARGET MOVABLE ALONG AN ARCUATE PATH ACROSS THE WIDE END OF THE BOARD. A BALL RESTS IN A DETENT ON THE TURNTABLE FACE, A PUSHBUTTON-ACTUATED MECHANISM PERMITTING SELECTIVE RELEASE OF THE BALL AS THE TURNTABLE IS ROTATING, SKILL BEING REQUIRED TO RELEASE THE BALL AT A PROPER TIME SO THAT IT WILL BE PROPELLED CENTRIFUGALLY TOWARD THE TARGET.

United States Patent Inventor Richard F. Hirsch 2654 Porter #6.Fullerton. Calif. 92631 Appl. No 795,843 Filed Feb. 3, 1969 PatentedJune 28, 1971 MOVING TARGET AND ROTATING CENTRIFUGAL PROJECTOR 13Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 273/119, 273/101, 273/129, 273/127,124/6,124/41 Int. Cl A6301!3/02, A63b 65/12, A63b 71/00 Field 01 Search 273/119,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,706,329 3/1929 Smith273/119 2,473,091 6/1949 Brooks et al 273/129 Primary Examiner-RichardC. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Theatrice Brown Anorney-Hinderstein &Silber ABSTRACT: A game simulating translunar injection. The gameincludes a sector-shaped board, a rotatable turntable coplanar with theboard at the narrow end thereof, and a moon-shaped target movable alongan arcuate path across the wide end of the board. A ball rests in adetent on the turntable face, a pushbutton-actuated mechanism permittingselective release of the ball as the turntable is rotating, skill beingrequired to release the ball at a proper time so that it will bepropelled centrifugally toward the target.

MOVING TARGET AND ROTATING CENTRIFUGAL PROJECTOR BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION l. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to agame simulating translunar injection, and more particularly, to a gamecomprising a rotating turntable coplanar with a sector-shaped board, atarget movable in an arcuate path on the board, and a mechanism topermit selective release of a ball held on the turntable at a propertime so that it might strike the target.

2. Description of the Prior Art With the publics ever-increasingknowledge of the universe and awareness of the problems inherent inspace exploration, there has been a concomitant demand for toys andgames which accurately simulate space conditions and activities.Indicative of this demand is the recent phenomenon of space suits faroutselling the traditional cowboy outfits at Halloween time. Despitethis demand, however, no games have been available in the past whichsimulate the problem of launching a space vehicle from the rotatingearth in an appropriate trajectory toward a moving target such as themoon or another planet.

Typical of prior art board games requiring skill to manipulate theposition of a ball rolling across a planar surface are various pinballmachines, These games all have a variety of stationary targets towardwhich a ball is projected. Generally, the ball is initially at rest, andis struck into motion by release of a spring-biased plunger. A pluralityof operator-controlled paddles then may be used to deflect the linearpath of the ball, hopefully toward the target. Such pinball-type games,while offering amusement to the player, lack the sales appeal of gamesmore directly related to space problems.

The present invention relates to a game which overcomes this limitationof the prior art, the game accurately simulating the problems inherentin translunar injection, yet maintaining skill requirements which gaveappeal to earlier known games.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention thereis set forth a game simulating translunar injection. The game comprisesa generally sector-shaped, horizontal board having a moonshaped targetmovable in an arcuate path along the rim or periphery of the sector. Arotatable turntable, colored to resemble the planet earth as viewed fromouter space, is provided coplanar with the board adjacent the narrow endthereof. A ball seats in a detent on the rotating turntable, and isselectively released by the operator while the turntable is rotating,centrifugal force projecting the ball along the board away from theturntable. Skill is required to release the ball at the proper time sothat it will strike the moving target.

The turntable comprises a circular disc fixedly, coaxially attached to atubular shaft. The ball release mechanism comprises a generally invertedL-shaped arm having a vertical section which extends downward throughthe tubular shaft, and a horizontal section extending radially above thesurface of the turntable and terminating in a loop adapted to engage thetop of the ball seated in the detent. The arm rotates with theturntable, but is free to move vertically, longitudinally of theturntable shaft. A button-actuated paddle is provided beneath the boardto move the arm vertically, thereby releasing the ball, centrifugalforce causing the ball to roll along the surface of the board toward themoon-shaped target.

The target itself is attached by means of an elongate rod to arotatable, planar, sector-shaped member situated below the boardv inspaced parallel relation therewith. The sector is rim driven by a simplefriction drive from the rotating turntable shaft. A handle fixedlyattached to the sector-shaped member permits positioning of the targetindependent of the member drive system.

In alternative embodiments, the board may be completely circular inshape, and may be provided with a plurality of targets. In addition, various movable, stationary or selectively positionable impediments may bepositioned on the board, simulating asteroids, space ships in orbit andthe like.

Thus, is an object of the present invention to provide a novel gamesimulating translunar injection.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a board gameincluding a moving target and a rotating turntable and means forselectively releasing a ball from the turntable toward the target.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a game whereina rotating turntable, marked to resemble earth as viewed from space,supports an element simulating a space vehicle which element may beselectively released from the turntable to move toward a moving targetsimulating a celestial object.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a gamecomprising a board, a rotating turntable coplanar with the board, atarget movable along an arcuate path on the board, and means forreleasing a ball from the rotating turntable.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a board gamecomprising a rotating turntable and a release mechanism cooperatingtherewith and permitting a ball to be centrifugally released from theturntable when the turntable is in an'angular orientation selectable bythe player.

A object of the present invention is to provide a board game having aboard, a turntable coplanar with the board, a target spaced apart fromthe turntable, and means for simultaneously rotating the turntable andmoving the target across the board.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gameincorporating a movable target situated at the end of an elongate rodattached to a pivotable sector-shaped member, a handle for pivoting thesector manually, and a rim-driven mechanism for pivoting the sectormechanically.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Still other objects, features andattendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from a reading of the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments constructed in accordancetherewith, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings whereinlike numerals designate like parts in the several FIGS. and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of the inventivegame simulating translunar injection.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the game shown in FIG. 1, as seengenerally along the'line 2-2 thereof. The motor for rotating theturntable, the moving target drive system, and the ballrelease mechanismall are evident in this view.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom plan view, partly in section, of theinventive game as seen generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2. Therim-driven sector-shaped member used to drive the moving target is shownin this view.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the target drive system asseen generally along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, there is shown a preferredembodiment of the inventive game simulating translunar injection. Asseen therein, a game 10 comprises a board 11 of generally sector shape.A vertical sidewall 12 surrounds substantially the entire periphery ofboard 11, a portion 12a of wall 12 maintaining board 11 in a horizontalplane raised above the level of the table or floor (not shown) on whichthe game is situated when in use. A portion 12b of sidewall 12 extendsabove the plane of board 1 1, forming a retaining ledge.

A planar rotatable turntable I3 is disposed in coplanar relation withboard 11 adjacent the narrow end 11a thereof, the turntable seatingwithin a circular opening 14 in board 11. The face 13a of turntable l3(evident in FIG. 1) preferably is painted or otherwise marked toresemble the planet earth as viewed from space. Turntable 13 is fixedly,coaxially attached to a tubular shaft 15, which shaft includes an upperportion a and a lower portion 15b having an outer diameter smaller thanthe outer diameter of upper portion 15a. A relatively short portion 151:of shaft 15 projects below turntable 13, the remainder of shaft portion15a projecting above upper turntable face 13a.

As evident in FIG. 2, a support member 16 is fixedly attached to thebottom of board 11 by means of fasteners 17. Integral with supportmember 16 is a generally C-shaped support 18 through which shaft 151)projects. Thus, shaft portion 15a provides an annular shoulder reducingthe friction between turntable 13 and support 18.

The turntable surface 13a is provided adjacent its periphery with adetent 19 within which may seat a ball 20. Ball 22 is maintained inplace by the looped end 21a of a generally L- shaped release arm 21.Release am 21 includes a vertical portion 21b extending coaxiallythrough shaft 15, the length of vertical portion 21b being sufficientlylong so that an end 21b projects downwardly below the bottom of shaftportion 15b. Arm 21 also includes a horizontal portion 21c terminatingin loop 21a. The end of horizontal arm portion 21c adjacent shaft 15 isdisposed within a slot 22 cut in the end of shaft portion 151:. It willbe apparent from this arrangement that release arm 24, when disposed inslot 22 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, will rotate in unison with turntable13.

As evident in FIG. 2, support member 16 has a downwardly dependingregion 23 to which is pivotally attached, by means of shaft 24, a level25. In the embodiment shown, lever 25 comprises an elongate strip ofmetal having a pair of approximately 90 twists 26 therein. In thismanner, the central portion of lever 25 is disposed in a generallyvertical plane so as to pivot about horizontal shaft 24, while the leverends 25a and 25b lie in generally horizontal planes. Support region 23is so situated that the horizontal end 25a of lever 25 is disposedbeneath the bottom end of release arm vertical portion 21b. The otherend 25b of lever 25 (see FIG. 2) is connected by a spring 27 to theunderside of board 11. A rod 28 having a push button 29 at the upper endthereof extends vertically through a hole 30 in board 11, the bottom endof rod 28 seating atop horizontal lever end 25b.

Thus, it is apparent that spring 27 biases lever end 25a downward sothat release arm 21 can maintain ball 20 seated on 'tumtable 13. Bydepressing button 29, rod 28 presses against lever end 25b, causing thelever to pivot about shaft 24 and causing lever end 25a to displace thevertical portion 21b of release arm 21 upward. In turn, this causeshorizontal arm portion 21b of release arm 21 upward. In turn, thiscauses horizontal arm portion 210 to move upward, releasing loop 210from ball 20. When push button 29 is released, spring 27 biases lever 25back to its rest position.

Turntable 13 may be driven by means of a small electric motor 33 (seeFIG. 2) which is connected by wires 34 to appropriate batteries 35mounted beneath board 11 and shown in phantom in FIG. 1. A normally OFFpushbutton switch 36 is connected in series with one of wires 34. Motor33 is mounted on an L-shaped bracket 37 pivotally attached by a shaft 38to a horizontal portion 39 of support member 16. The shaft 40 of motor33 engages the rim of turntable 13, being biased into this engagement bymeans of a spring 41 extending between bracket 37 and a tab 42 extendingfrom support member 16. with this arrangement, when pushbutton switch 36is depressed, motor 33 operates under power from batteries 35, impartingrotational motion via shaft 40 to turntable 13.

Referrin'g still to FIGS. 1 and 2, game 10 is provided with a target 43adapted to move in an arcuate path above the surface of board 11. In theembodiment shown, target 43 is shaped like a crescent moon, howevertargets of other configuration may be used. For example, target 43 maybe spherical, and painted or otherwise marked to resemble realisticallythe cratered moon. Target 43 is supported by the vertical portion 440 ofgenerally L-shaped elongate rod 44, vertical portion 44a extendingthrough an arcuate aperture 45 situated adjacent the wide end 11b ofboard 11. In an alternative em-- bodiment (not shown) no sidewallsupport portion 12a may be provided for board end 11b, and vertical rodportion 44a may be situated beyond the end of board 11, looping backover the edge of the board into contact with target 43.

The long, horizontal portion 44b of rod 44 is disposed beneath board 11,being fixedly connected at end 44b to one edge of a planar, generallysector-shaped member 46, most clearly shown in FIG. 3. Member 46 isdisposed beneath board 11 in spaced parallel relation therewith, and ispivotally mounted via a vertical shaft 47 to a bracket 48 extending fromsidewall 12a. Shaft 47 extends through the center of curvature of thesector rim 49 of member 46. Extending diagonally opposite rim 49 andforming a unitary portion of member 46 is a handle 50. Handle 50projects beyond board end 11a through an opening 51 in sidewall 12a. Itis apparent that sector member 46 may be pivoted in a horizontal planeabout shaft 47 manually by means of handle 50. This pivotal motion ofmember 46 imparts similar motion to elongate rod 44 moving target 43along an arcuate path defined by aperture 45.

Sector-shaped member 46, and hence target 43, also may be drivenindirectly by motor 33 via a simple rim drive illustrated in FIGS. 2 and3. As shown therein, a generally C-shaped carriage member 52 ispivotallyattached to support member 16 by means of vertical shaft 53. Shaft 53 isnot connected to C- shaped member 53 per se, but rather to a projection54 extending from one side thereof (see FIG. 3).

Extending vertically between the top and bottom of C- shaped member 52is a shaft 55 having an annular V-shaped groove 56 about its peripheryadjacent one end thereof. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, rim 49 ofsector-shaped member 46 seats within groove 56. Adjacent the other endof shaft 55 and fixedly attached thereto is a disc or wheel 57 theperiphery of which is in friction engagement with shaft portion 15b. Aspring 58 extending between C-shaped member 52 and support member 16(see FIG. 3) causes pivotal motion of member 52 about shaft 53, therebybiasing wheel 57 against shaft portion 15b and biasing groove 56 inshaft against rim 49 of sector-shaped member 46.

As turntable 13 rotates, shaft 15 transmits rotational motion to wheel57 and hence to shaft 55. Shaft 55, and particularly groove 56 thereof,is in peripheral contact with rim 49 thereby causing rotation ofsector-shaped member 46 about shaft 47. Member 46 in turn carries withit elongate rod 44, causing target 43 to move along an arcuate pathacross board 11. Note that the rate of rotation of turntable 13 isconsiderably slower than that of motor 33, as determined by the diameterratio between shaft 38 and turntable 13. Similarly, sector-shaped member46, and hence target 43, move at a much slower rotational rate than doesturntable 13, the additional reduction in rotational rate being relatedto the ratio of the diameters of shaft 15b and wheel 57 and the ratio ofthe diameter of groove portion 56 to the diameter of sector-shapedmember 46.

Note that since motor 33 rotates in only one direction, target 43 willbe driven in only one angular direction, as for example counterclockwisein FIG. 1. When target 43 reaches the counterclockwise end of aperture45, it may be reset to the start position at the clockwise end ofaperture 45 by using handle 50. The frictional contact between shaft 55and the rim of sector-shaped member 46 and between wheel 47 and shaft15b is sufficiently light so as to permit relative sliding motion of rim49 with respect to groove 56.

The game is played by using handle 50 to position moonshaped target 43at its start position at the clockwise end of aperture 45 A ball 20 isplaced on detent l9 and release arm 21 situated so that loop 21amaintains ball 20 in place, and so that part of horizontal arm portion21c rests within slot 22 at the upper end of shaft 15. Switch 36 then isdepressed, connecting current from batteries 35 to motor 33 and causingturntable 13 to rotate. Of course, ball 20 and release arm 21 rotate inunison with turntable 13. Moreover, rotation of turntable 13 drives (viawheel 57 and shaft 55) sector-shaped member 46, causing target 43 tomove counterclockwise across board 11.

At the appropriate time during rotation of turntable l3, pushbutton 29is depressed, causing lever 25 to pivot about shaft 24 and to displaceupwardly release arm 2!. Loop 210 of arm 21 thus is disengaged from ball20, and the centrifugal force imparted to ball 22 by rotating turntable13 causes the ball to roll off of the turntable in a directiondetermined by the angular position of turntable 13 at the timepushbutton 29 is depressed. Of course. it is the objective of the gameto effectuate this release at an appropriate time to send ball along atrajectory terminating at target 43.

To add variety to the game, various obstacles may be positioned on boardH in a planned or random fashion. For example, objects such as dice maybe shaken onto table ll in random positions prior to the release of ball20. Ball 20 then must be released at a time appropriate not only tostrike target 43, but to follow a trajectory which avoids the obstaclesplaced on the board. Of course, these obstacles may be painted orotherwise configured to resemble asteroids, artificial satellites, orspace junk" which represent obstacles to be avoided in actual spacetravel.

It will be readily apparent that while a single moving target is shownherein, two or more such targets may be provided; these targets may bedriven by the same rotating sectorshaped member 46, or may beindependently driven. The board need not be sector shaped, but may takeother configurations including a complete circle. Further, the boarditself may be painted black with pinpoints of white representing stars,so that the board will resemble the heavens when viewed from space.

Thus, the inventive game described herein presents a realisticsimulation of the problems involved in translunar injection, andparticularly of launching a space ship to the moon from a platform on arapidly rotating earth.

While the invention has been described with respect to several physicalembodiments constructed in accordance therewith, it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements maybe made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

lclaim:

l. A game comprising:

a board;

a rotatable turntable coplanar with said board;

a target movable in an arcuate path along said board, said path beingspaced from said turntable; and release means for maintaining a ball onsaid turntable while said turntable is rotating and for selectivelyreleasing said ball.

2. A game as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

means for simultaneously rotating said turntable and moving said targetalong said path, said ball being releasable while said turntable isrotating and said target is moving.

3. A game as defined in claim 1 further comprising motor means forrotating said turntable, and drive means cooperating with said rotatingturntable for moving said target along said path.

4. A game as defined in claim 3 wherein said motor means comprises amotor, the shaft of said motor being in driving engagement with the rimof said turntable, and switch means for selectively energizing saidmotor.

5. A game as defined in claim 3 wherein said turntable is fixedlyconcentrically attached to a tubular shaft, and wherein said releasemeans comprises a generally inverted L-shaped arm having a verticalponion extending coaxially through said tubular shaft and a horizontalportion extending radially from said shaft above said turntable, saidhorizontal portion being adapted to engage said ball, and means forvertically displacing said L-shaped arm longitudinal of said shaft, saidvertical displacement releasing said ball.

6. A game as defined in claim 5 wherein said release means furthercomprises a detent in said turntable adjacent the periphery thereof,said detent permitting said ball to seat therein, and means forpreventing relative rotational motion of said arm with respect to saidturntable at least while said arm is engaging said ball.

. A game as defined in claim 3 wherein said drive means comprises aplanar, generally sector-shaped member adapted to rotate about the axisof said sector, said target being connected to said member, and meansengaging the rim of said sector and driven by said rotating turntablefor rotating said member about said axis.

8. A game as defined in claim 7 wherein said member is disposed beneathsaid board in spaced parallel relation therewith, and further comprisingan elongate rod disposed beneath said board, one end of said rod beingattached to said member, the other end of said rod being bent to projectabove said board, said target being attached to said other end.

9. A game as defined in claim 8 further comprising a handle fixedlyattached to said member, said handle facilitating rotation of saidmember about said axis substantially independent of said means engaging.

10. A game as defined in claim 9 wherein said turntable is fixedlyconcentrically attached to a tubular shaft, and wherein said releasemeans comprises a generally inverted L-shaped arm having a verticalportion extending coaxially through said tubular shaft and a horizontalportion extending radially from said shaft above said turntable, saidhorizontal portion being adapted to engage said ball, and means forvertically displacing said L-shapcd arm longitudinal of said shaft, saidvertical displacement releasing said ball.

11. A game as defined in claim 10 wherein said release means furthercomprises a dimple in said turntable, said dimple permitting said ballto seat therein, and means for preventing relative rotational motion ofsaid arm with respect to said turntable at least while said arm isengaging said ball.

12. A game as defined in claim 3 wherein said target is generally moonshaped and wherein said turntable is configured to represent earth.

13. A game as defined in claim 3 wherein said board is generally sectorshaped, and further comprising a peripheral sidewall around said board,said sidewall supporting said board in a raised, horizontal plane andproviding a ledge for retaining said ball on said board.

